The addition of Karate in the Olympics is not a new thing. But for the upcoming 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, it will be the first appearance of the Karate sport category at the event. It is one of the five new sports coming to the event to compete. But it is specifically for the 2020 Olympics, not for the permanent member.
There will be eight events in total from this sport category. Each event will have 10 competitors.
Summer Olympic Karate Schedule 2021
There is the complete schedule of the 2021 Tokyo Olympic Karate.
N.B: *All times in Japan Standard Time (JST)
| Date | Time | Event |
|---|---|---|
| THURSDAY 5TH AUGUST 2021 | 10:00 – 14:45 | Women’s Kata Elimination Round |
| Women’s Kata Ranking Round | ||
| Men’s Kumite -67 kg Elimination Round | ||
| 17:00 – 21:40 | Women’s Kumite -55 kg Elimination Round | |
| Women’s Kata Bronze Medal Bouts | ||
| Women’s Kata Final Bout | ||
| Men’s Kumite -67 kg Semifinals | ||
| Women’s Kumite -55 kg Semifinals | ||
| Men’s Kumite -67 kg Final | ||
| Women’s Kumite -55 kg Final | ||
| Women’s Kata Victory Ceremony | ||
| Men’s Kumite -67 kg Victory Ceremony | ||
| Women’s Kumite -55 kg Victory Ceremony | ||
| FRIDAY 6TH AUGUST 2021 | 10:00 – 14:45 | Men’s Kata Elimination Round |
| Men’s Kata Ranking Round | ||
| Women’s Kumite -61 kg Elimination Round | ||
| 17:00 – 21:40 | Men’s Kumite -75 kg Elimination Round | |
| Men’s Kata Bronze Medal Bouts | ||
| Men’s Kata Final Bout | ||
| Women’s Kumite -61 kg Semifinals | ||
| Men’s Kumite -75 kg Semifinals | ||
| Women’s Kumite -61 kg Final | ||
| Men’s Kumite -75 kg Final | ||
| Men’s Kata Victory Ceremony | ||
| Women’s Kumite -61 kg Victory Ceremony | ||
| Men’s Kumite -75 kg Victory Ceremony | ||
| SATURDAY 7TH AUGUST 2021 | 14:00 – 20:35 | Women’s Kumite +61 kg Elimination Round |
| Men’s Kumite +75 kg Elimination Round | ||
| Women’s Kumite +61 kg Semifinals | ||
| Men’s Kumite +75 kg Semifinals | ||
| Women’s Kumite +61 kg Final | ||
| Men’s Kumite +75 kg Final | ||
| Women’s Kumite +61 kg Victory Ceremony | ||
| Men’s Kumite +75 kg Victory Ceremony |
How to Watch Olympic Karate Live Stream Online?
If you want to watch Olympic Karate Live Stream online for free? You are in the right place. You know that the Olympics is a Multi-sports event in the world. And there are different live streams and tv broadcasters from different areas.
For that reason, we find out a solution for you. For Olympics Karate Live Streaming from anywhere free? Check this guide
Also Read: Olympic Surfing 2021: Schedule, Live Stream, TV Coverage & more info
Key Facts about Karate at 2021 Tokyo Olympic:
Here are the Key Facts about Karate at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. You need to know before watching this.
Olympic Karate Events
There will be 8 events happening in the Olympics Karate competition that takes place from 5 to 8 August 2021. Each day will have at least one medal event.
Two disciplines will be competing in the entire event: Kumite and Kata.
Kumite is a sparring discipline. It will feature three weight classes for male and female karatekas.
Meanwhile, Kata is the solo form discipline. It will feature a single event for each male and female karatekas.
2020 Tokyo Karate Venue
The Olympic Karate competition venue is at the Nippon Budokan.
Budokan means Martial Arts Hall in English. It will also be the first location of the very first Karate in the Olympics.
The Nippon Budokan, however, has had a long history in the Olympics domain. The government built the building particularly for hosting judo competitions in the 1964 Olympic Games. Back then, it was the debut of the judo sport in the Olympics.
Nippon Budokan is close to the Imperial Palace and considered the spiritual haven for the Japanese martial arts.
Scoring and Technique
The competitors (male or female) will choose Kata to demonstrate from the total of 102 kata. The World Karate Federation has approved these katas.
It is imperative to know that the usage of particular Kata is for only once. Each event will feature ten competitors.
There are three weight classes for Kumite or sparring disciplines of Karate.
The officials of the Olympics are using the World Karate Federation standard rules to host the competition. The set of rules apply to both Kumite and Kata.
There will be sparring between two karatekas on the mats in the Kumite category, which are 8 x 8 meters.
Each match is 3 minutes or ends when a competitor has collected 8 points more than their opponent. Meanwhile, the karateka who reached the first point will be the winner. There will be five judges who oversee all of the Kumite matches.
The scores can be various from one to three points. And there are unique languages to represent those points. For instance, Ippon is the word to describe 3 points. Waza-ari is the word for describing 2 points. Last but not least, Yuko is for citing 1 point.
If a competitor receives 4 warnings, they will get disqualified.
In Kata, there will be seven judges who oversee the performance of each karateka. There are seven scores for each group. But the two highest and two lowest scores will be eliminated. If there’s a draw, a rematch of Kata will be available for the judges to mark.
Olympic Karate History
Karate has just recently been available in the Olympics domain because history is also younger. Back in the Rio Games, 129 members of ICO agreed to add more sports competitions for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. These newly added sports are Climbing, surfing, skateboarding, and Karate.
Karate made its debut in Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympic Games. This had drawn such excellent receptions for the viewers across the globe. Although the Karate competition will take place at Tokyo Olympics 2020, it won’t happen at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Karate was included in the Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympic Games, to a positive response in Argentina.
Top Olympic Karatekas at Tokyo 2021
We will see 80 athletes who compete in the Karate sports category. 60 will be competing in the Kumite event. Meanwhile, 20 of them will be participating in the Kata Event.
The numbers for male and female karatekas are equal.
When it comes to Kata, the top world-ranked Karateka from Spanish: Sandra Sanchez and Damian Quintero, will be the favorites.
Sanchez has been reserved to be the karateka who has the most medals in history.
But let’s not overlook the true competitor from the hosting country: Kiyou Shimizu. She will be a tough competitor.
Meanwhile, in the Men Kata division, Damian Quintero’s hardest competitor will be Ryo Kiyuna. It is exciting to see the huge rivalries between Spain and Japan.
The duel between Kiyuna and Quintero is not a new thing for all Karate lovers across the globe.
